Baseball-Reference.com is blacking out our logo today to make you aware of a law that will soon be before Congress that could dramatically affect innovation and freedom on the internet. SOPA and PIPA will soon be before Congress and these laws will dramatically alter the current balance of power between copyright holders and the rights of users and website creators.

Sports Reference believes that intellectual property should be protected (our livelihoods depend on it), but these proposed laws go way, way, way too far in trying to stop piracy. A sane, reasoned approach to piracy is what is needed, and these laws proposed by the Movie and Recording Industry would reduce innovation on the internet. They want to return to the 1980's. Do you want sports statistics information to return to the 1980's?

How could SOPA and PIPA hurt Sports Reference LLC?

SOPA and PIPA are a threat to Sports Reference in many ways. For example, in its current form, SOPA would require Sports Reference to actively monitor every site we link to, to ensure it doesn't host infringing content. Even a link to an infringing site could put us in jeopardy of being forced offline.

Links to more information and steps you can take to oppose these laws from Google and Wikipedia.

13 Responses to “Why We Oppose #SOPA”

I'm wondering if representatives from Google and Wikipedia have petitioned to be heard before congress?

The movie and recording industry could solve their issue with privacy simply. stop producing content. Let those actors, singers and talentless entertainers get real jobs.

let all those companies that advertise on TV save all that revenue from advertising and take it off their costs thus making products cheaper for consumers.

Movies being pirated?? Stop releasing them on DVD and Blu Ray. It's only their greed that causes piracy anyway. Stop trying to make more money and every digital copy out there would be illegal and then they can spend the money to police it.

I wonder if the entertainment industry would be in favor of internet movies, TV, and music if they weren't paid up front.
What if their salaries came from the amount of people that got their stuff from the internet...

Is it my imagination, or do SOPA and PIPA smack of the kind of "policing" that worked so effectively -- and detrimentally to society -- for Stalin {and Hitler before him}? I agree fully with BR -- the time has come to draw the line that the government, however pure their intentions might be, will be prohibited from crossing.

To clarify - the entertainment industry as a whole does NOT support SOPA. It is supported by a handful of huge, powerful conglomerates who are too short -sighted to recognize that interest in their product actually grows with its exposure on the internet. Just like every industry that seeks to shutout the average man so that the power brokers can be more powerful - many - but certainly not all (by any means) - of Hollywood's elite are seeking to flex their political muscle. It has become the American Way, especially since "corporations are people."

this legislation is nothing more than a tool for the gov't to decide if they like your content and remove it... in the name of piracy. just like they use current laws to remove people who like guns but don't use them instead of removing the guys who use guns everyday shooting other drug dealers